The Rubik’s Cube has remained a classic and beloved toy for so long for multiple reasons. Even if you don’t know how to solve it, the puzzle just feels good to twist around and jumble up. If you do know how to get its sides all back to single colors though, then it’s a really satisfying experience for the math-loving part of your brain (I imagine, since I don’t know how to solve one). Also, they’re versatile, as it seems like people are doing new things with them all the time, like creating animations or even playing Star Wars songs. Now, there’s a Rubik’s Cube that has a mind of its own: if you mix it up, it will solve itself (via BoingBoing).
In the videos above and below, you see the creator mix up his Rubik’s Cube. Then he sets it down on the table (or holds it in the air in the second clip) and watches as the cube twists and turns on its own, eventually returning itself to a purer state. The documentation for this creation is complex, but my very reasonable and simple theory about how this works is: when you twist the cube, the components inside the cube record every movement, and then when the motions are done, it simply performs all of the twists in reverse order, essentially undoing everything that just happened.
Below is a video showing the cube being disassembled so you can get a good look at what makes it work internally. Is this the most impressive Rubik’s Cube-related thing you’ve ever seen? Let us know what you think down in the comments!
Featured Image: Human Controller